Palettes


One of my favorite sites, Retronaut, recently featured a series of palettes belonging to famous painters. I once thought about collecting palettes from my artist friends but never got around to actually doing it. I have one palette that was last used ca. 1900, hanging on my studio wall. The artist cleaned it - leaving barely a trace of paint. But its graceful shape and patina makes it a work of art in its own right. It never fails to catch my eye. 
Most painters probably have dried up old palettes lying around. Palettes offer a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the artists' lives - their work habits; how they mixed their paints, organized colors, their training and even their lifestyles. The palettes below LOOK like the painters' paintings right down to the paint strokes.


Vincent Van Gogh (top) 
Eugene Delacroix (bottom)




Vincent Van Gogh (top) 
Eugene Delacroix (bottom)



Below: A fragment of a palette I used while taking a class in classical painting.
 Each color is broken down to ten shades. This is an example of a flesh palette based on Ingres.
The palette itself is glass mounted over a canvas board primed in a mid-tone gray.
Mixing is done at the bottom. I still prefer the old-style wooden ones. 



Grande Odalisque
Ingres

Bronze Pour at the Montoya Sculpture Studio


This was the second bronze pour of the day- just five pieces of about 25 total,
 at the Montoya Sculpture Studio. Leslie Ortiz is working
  at the left, Pat Crowley in the center and Luis Montoya on the right. 


The pour is roughly the middle step in the long process of
producing a bronze sculpture.  
Above - After the pieces cool down, the ceramic shells are broken.  The fragments are then welded together and seams removed using pneumatic tools.
 Finally, textures are added to areas lost during the process. 
Below: The finished work- "Shellboat." Leslie created the patina (colors)
 using various chemicals and a blowtorch. 


Below: Two views of another piece from a recent pour - "Dinner for Two," 
a stunning creation measuring 42" from end to end.  Photos by Scott Wiseman.



Below: The opening...


Sculptor, Luis Montoya and Jo Mett, top and Leslie Ortiz, bottom, pose
 with "Dinner for Two" at their opening at the
 John H. Surovek Gallery on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach, Florida.


Below: The scene in the courtyard outside of the Surovek Gallery
Bottom: Leslie and friends in the courtyard.



The John H. Surovek Gallery has an excellent presentation of the Montoya/Ortiz pieces here.